It Takes One to Know One
by vanillafluffy
Summary: A judge with eccentric ideas of justice has a novel sentence for Riddick. Riddick has his own ideas on the subject. Set prePitch Black. Experimental. Except for the first and last chapter, chapters are double drabble length.
1. It Takes One to Know One

A stocking stuffer. A teaser. Drabble. Call it what you will. I call it

It Takes One to Know One

"Your Honor, do you think that last sentence was _appropriate_?" The magistrate's clerk was wide-eyed as they exited the courtroom.

"What did you expect me to do, Spinelli?" Judge Falkner asked testily, "Send him off to Slam for taking a leak in public?"

"Richard B. Riddick? _Yes!_" Her nose wrinkled fastidiously.

"Don't be ridiculous. Community service will give him something useful to do." Falkner's thin lips wore a grim smile.

"Piloting a shipful of juvenile offenders on a run to Rehab?" she gasped.

"He's a qualified pilot. It'll do those little punks good. It takes one to know one."

* * *

I own the video, nothing more. Batteries not included, Richard B. Riddick sold separately. 


	2. A Little Education is a Dangerous Thing

As confinement went, this particular incarceration wasn't bad. They had Riddick locked down in a wing of the same facility as the kids he was supposed to transport to Rehab (Junior Slam, next stop, the real thing), awaiting their launch window. The food was institutional, but not inedible, and while they weren't about to let him roam around freely, he had access to the same educational software the little twerps did, so he wasn't totally bored.

At first, Riddick amused himself with science courses, until some safeguard in the system realized the chemical formulae he was looking into meant explosives, and locked him out. It wouldn't let him take a refresher course on math for astrogation. He wound up in the history database, idly wandering from link to link, starting with 19th-century America--the Old West was an interest of his--and drifted. Railroads. Social reform. Homesteading.

An idea took shape. It was a twisted little idea, and Riddick explored it as a way to make his assignment jucier. It shouldn't be difficult...there were some restrictions on the level of data he could get for interplanetary geography, but there was enough information available to shape a decision.

This could be fun.


	3. Twentyfour

Twenty-four

The _Kapiolani_ held twenty-four. That meant twenty-one juvenile offenders, two trustees--one male, one female--and Riddick. They weren't even providing a back-up pilot? He couldn't believe anyone trusted him that much--maybe they just hoped the ship would disappear with all hands and relieve the taxpayers of twenty-two prisoners and a couple of civil service salaries.

Fifteen males and six females were brought aboard as Riddick watched. Each was secured to a restraining column, wheeled up the ramp and placed in a cryo-sleep pod. They were positioned so they faced the rear of the pods. (Memory barked at him: "Time out, Richard! Go stand in the corner--no, the _other _way!" He'd always hated that particular punishment--leaving his blindside vulnerable that way...)

Even with mild sedation beforehand, a number of them reacted as they were installed in the _Kapiolani's_ pods. They muttered sleepy threats, growled, bared their teeth, giving one last pathetic show of how bad they were. Several had tears running down their cheeks--boys as well as girls. One of the younger boys whimpered like a scared puppy as he was stowed away.

Riddick filed away which ones seemed to have attitude. He'd want to check them out...later.


	4. The Best Laid Plans

**The Best Laid Plans**

It wasn't going to be that simple. Riddick's satisfaction at how easily his plans were proceeding was punctured when the two trustees entered the cabin. First aboard was a thin, thirty-something woman who curtly introduced herself as Rosen. Following her strode an even more dour-looking guy about Riddick's age, mid-twenties, with curly ginger hair.

Rosen passed a data cube to Ginger and stepped into one of the three remaining pods, looking less than thrilled to be there. Riddick noted the handoff. The cube would contain the files on their young passengers. He'd need that to help implement his plan.

Ginger said something reassuring to her in a low voice--Riddick caught the tone, not the words, and sealed her in, activating the cryothesia.

Instead of going into one of the remaining vacant pods, Ginger side-stepped Riddick and marched into the _Kapiolani's_ bridge. He settled into the copilot's chair and looked up at Riddick. "What, you didn't think you were going to be unsupervised, did you?" There was no amusement in his voice, only a country-boy twang that was sure to get really annoying in a couple of days. "Let's get moving, Riddick. Oh, by the way--I'm Johns."


	5. Throwing Shapes

**Throwing Shapes**

Johns was a drone, Riddick decided after two days of the man's laconic company. He was as cheerful as Ebola and as boring as it was possible to be without being comatose. Riddick tried every conversational avenue he could think of to see what made the guy tick, but nothing, not girls or sports or politics stirred him up. What did he do for entertainment, watch cars rust?

Since subverting Johns obviously wouldn't work, Riddick concluded he'd have to take him out of the picture. There was still a cryo-pod with Johns's name on it; introduce a blunt object to the trustee's curly head, throw him in there... _Say good night, Ginger._

Without monitoring, Riddick could concentrate on overriding the preprogrammed flight coordinates. His best bet was to stage the ambush as close to jump transition as possible. When _Kapiolani_ shifted into hyperdrive, Riddick could carefully extract the beacon that would otherwise signal satellite survellance at the next jump point. Upon returning to normal space, he could purge the ship chip and _Kapiolani_ would become a ghost ship. Then no one would track them to their unscheduled destination.

They'll never find those kids unless I tell them where they are.


	6. Faking It

Riddick gave a theatrical yawn and Johns yawned alongside him. Riddick was faking, but Johns was beset the the phenomenon of the Group Yawn. "I'm gonna hit the head," Riddick said casually to the trustee.

It was two hours before they were due to jump. Riddick waited stolidly in the cubicle as his watch counted down the remaining time. _I haven't done anything yet to make him suspicious. Sooner or later he'll come back here looking for me...I don't want to try anything on the bridge--it would be too easy for him to get a mayday out._

At one hour, seventeen minutes, there was a rap on the panel. _Good--Ginger is off the bridge. _Riddick activated the PURGE cycle to make it look good and exited the compartment to Johns's scowl.

"What took you so long?" the other man demanded, scowling at him. "I might need to use the can before jump, too,did you think of that?"

Riddick shrugged. "Must've been something I ate," he said, deadpan, then lashed out with a kick that knocked Johns' feet out from under him. _I've been looking forward to this since Ginger came on board. The guy really needs a good ass-kicking._


	7. Angel of Mercy

Johns was no lightweight--he got a couple of punches in--but Riddick beat him with surprise and sheer ferocity. After a fast, brutal fight, Johns had a dislocated shoulder--he'd landed on it--and his left leg was bent at an unnatural angle where Riddick stomped it.

Once his baby-sitter was secured, Riddick snagged the data cube. Johns leaned back against one of the pods, his breathing shallow, obviously in pain from his injuries.

Attempting first aid would take more time than he had before jump. That would have to come later. _Beating the hell out of Ginger was a necessary evil, and I enjoyed the hell out of it, but there's no reason to leave him permanently messed up._

Since Johns wasn't concussed, as far as Riddick could tell, anyway, he went to the med locker and shot the other man up with a painkiller guaranteed to leave him feeling just fine. He had to guesstimate the dose, but Johns didn't show any of the symptoms of overdose that the warning on the kit mentioned.

"Sleep it off, big boy," Riddick said, as the other man stared placidly at him. "I'll get you fixed up after we go bye-bye."


	8. Mr FixIt

**Mr. Fix-It**

Riddick took the _Kapiolani _into jump. As soon as the ship made the transition out of scan range, he got busy. He had to find, disarm and remove the chip that broadcast the _Kapiolani's _ID to the satellite network. From his pilot training, he knew where it was concealed.

Getting the panel loose wasn't easy. It wasn't supposed to be. Improvising from the meagre contents of the tool locker,Riddick liquified the acrylic holding the chip to the board easily enough, but then he had to work it loose. The calipers he used in lieu of tweezers were clumsy--he worried that he'd trip the failsafe, that would signal an emergency as soon as they reappeared in normal space. Then the satellites would start tracking his mass instead of the beacon, and that would tell them what vector he was jumping out on...nope, that would seriously screw up his plans.

"Come on, you little bastard," he growled at the stubborn componant. It wiggled like a loose tooth. "Come on..." He rocked the curve of the caliper beneath the edge of the chip. "Come to Papa..."

The chip popped out, and he snatched it truimphantly. He was in.


	9. Walking Wounded

Riddick rose stiffly and slipped the panel more or less back into place. He tucked the elusive chip into a pocket and buttoned it securely. He had a couple of cracked ribs from the fight, but as long as he didn't have to pull any high-G maneuvers, he'd be okay.

Back in the passenger cabin, Johns was groaning. The first injection must've worn off; Johns didn't sound too good. Riddick shot him up again, and after a couple minutes, the trustee relaxed. If it bothered him that he'd been overpowered and hijacked, he didn't show it. His blue eyes were unfocused, and there was a smile on his lips. _Note to self, the guy isn't so bad when he's doped up._

Getting Johns's shoulder back in place took some work, but Riddick managed. He'd dislocated his own shoulder more than once, so he had an idea of the technique. Then he straightened and splinted the fractured leg as best he could.

_Okay, I've got the data cube, so I can see what kind of talent I have on board. Now all I have to do is pitch the ship chip, change course and start interviewing kids. Piece of cake._


	10. An Echo

Scanning the data cube was enlightening. Riddick snickered when he discovered how little the authorities really knew about his own illegal activities. Grinning, he started to review the files on his passengers.

This was good for even more incredulity. The twenty-one juveniles ranged in age from a nine-year old girl to a severnteen-year old boy. Their offenses ranged from chronic curfew violation to matricide, and Riddick's eyebrows lifted.

The curfew scoflaw turned out to be the boy who'd whimpered as they were loading him. One of the girls had killed her own mother...footnote, mother had a long arrest record for prostitution. Most of the other femmes were unsuccessful shoplifters, with the exception of a thirteen-year old girl who'd set a car on fire. Most of the guys were busted for theft and vandalism; a couple had assault charges against them, and one was up for statutory rape. Quite a mixed bag.

Riddick wondered how many of them would be suitable for what he had in mind. Some of them might be better off in Rehab, but he was pretty sure he could do a better job of determining that than some distinguished judge.

_It takes one to know one._


	11. A Harmless Lie and a Harmless Liar

Wilbur the Whimperer was Riddick's first target. Under Johns' glassy-eyed gaze, Riddick hauled the kid out of his pod and brought him around. The underage curfew offender took one look at the intimidating hijacker and Riddick thought the kid was gonna wet his pants.

"Do you want to go to Rehab?" Riddick demanded.

Wilbur shook his head frantically, then looked with suspicion at his rescuer. "What would I have to do? Are you some kind of pervert?"

"Your file says your dad is alive."

"Yeah, so? He's the one that got me into this mess. He wanted me out of our flat so he could screw around. I kept getting racked for curfew, and he said I was incorrigible. What a guy, huh?"

Wilbur pouted, looking harmless and nobody's idea of a hardened criminal. He was short and chubby, and Riddick knew he'd be easy prey in Rehab. _He thinks **I'm** a pervert? The chicken-hawks in Baby Slam would have way too much fun with this kid._

"Are you willing to lie to people and say your dad is dead?"

Wilbur shrugged, trying--and failing--to look like he didn't care. "For all he cares about me, he might as well be."


	12. I Can Respect That

Rudolfo Cardoza was the biggest surprise. He had a daughter with his so-called rape victim, and professed an intention of returning to them after his sentence was completed. He turned down Riddick's offer of a fresh start away from Earth. Rudolfo was quite adamant: he _wanted _to go to Rehab.

"You could start a new life," Riddick encouraged him. He knew a few of the kids were going to end up in Rehab no matter what he did, but this guy didn't have to be one of them.

"At the cost of my family? No, thank you. They're my responsibility. I'll keep the life I have."

"It's your call, Rudy. Hope it works for you."

Rudolfo stepped back inside his pod without hesitation. He nodded once to Riddick, and there was a look of peace on his face as sleep reclaimed him.

_That kid's got real balls...I gotta respect that. What the hell, he's got people that he cares about...man, I hope that chick feels the same way about him, after what he's gonna go through in the next couple of years. I hope it's worth it for him in the end._


	13. Little Miss Matricide

Little Miss Matricide was a fifteen-year old named Deborah--and as soon as Riddick got a good look at her, he had an idea of what had gone down: She was a gorgeous redhead with curves in all the right places. He was right; she told him as much when he asked her about the charges against her.

"He wouldn't keep his hands off me," she said bitterly, "and when I yelled, she said he was paying plenty, and I'd better shut up if I knew what was good for me. Anyway, she hauled off and slapped me, and I hit her with the lamp and broke her skull. I wasn't trying to kill her," Deborah said, not sounding as if it mattered to her, "but she had no right to offer me up without asking."

_Her old lady must've been some piece of work. Trying to rent out her own daughter...this kid must have left her childhood behind a long time ago. Not exactly traumatized, is she? _

"Y'know," she said, with a coy glance at him, "you're kinda cute. Wanna do the nasty?" She smiled and fluttered her lashes at him.

_Not nearly traumatized enough..._


	14. No Next Time

_Rudy's getting two years in Rehab for doing a kid Debbie's age. If they got ahold of me, I'd wind up doing ten. Not worth it. She's cute, but not that cute. _Taking his silence for consent, Deborah reached over and stroked Riddick's crotch. "I'll do anything you want, if it'll keep me out of Rehab."

Swiftly, Riddick pinned her to the deck, tearing her coveralls open as she flailed at him. She cried out, struggling helplessly beneath him. Riddick rubbed against her, letting her know he was capable of giving her what she'd asked for. "No!" she gasped in shock.

"No? What do you mean, no? You were begging for it a minute ago." Riddick enjoyed the scent of her fear.

Tears spilled down her face. "Don't hurt me!" she pleaded.

Riddick released Deborah and dragged her up by the front of her coveralls. "You're lucky," he growled. "I could've taken you up on your offer...you would _not_ have enjoyed it." She whimpered as he squeezed her breast. "Next time, you might not be so lucky." A harder squeeze, and she gave a mew of pain. "See to it there's no next time."


	15. Wormy

Riddick dragged Deborah back to the aft cabin and flung her into the vacant pod, slamming the controls and initiating the sleep sequence without ceremony. _Dumb kid. _

"How come you didn't take the little honey up on her offer?" Johns asked. He'd been watching the procession of kids back and forth with bemusement, but until now, hadn't shown much interest. Now he was grinning, the first time Riddick had seen that expression on the man's usually dour face. "Warm and wet and wiggling like a worm on a hook..." Johns gave a bounce of his hips and moaned.

"That's disgusting," said Riddick, and fixed another shot to keep him quiet.

The voyage settled into routine. Riddick interviewed kids, some of whom were going to Rehab regardless of his efforts for an alternative. (Though so far, Rudolfo was the only volunteer.) He dosed Johns enough to keep him silent, because otherwise, the trusty showed a liking for children that even the hardened convict found unsavory.

_It's a damn good thing I took out Johns instead of vice versa, or he'd've spent the trip playing games with the kids. Did the drugs warp him, or was he wormy all along?_


	16. Young and Eager

The youngest child was nine, and Riddick interviewed her last. She seemed completely unafraid of him. Busted for lifting a carton of smokes, then breaking the store owner's leg with his own iron pipe, according to her record. She asked for a drink, so he gave her a packet of electrolyte boosters and parked her in a seat up front.

"Good stuff, thanks." She grinned at him. Not the way Deborah had, but friendly-like. _Like a normal kid._

"So, tell me, Jacquelyn, do you want to go to Rehab?"

"Not if there's a better option." She squirmed on the edge of the observer's seat, a little bundle of energy. "What's on your mind?"

"Is there anyone you belong to back on Earth?" Riddick asked. Her file was sparse on that point.

Jacquelyn shrugged, dismissing the thought. "Nobody cares about me. I've been on my own for as long as I can remember." She tilted her head, studying him. "I know who you are," she declared, sounding gleeful. "You're _Riddick_. I saw you on the news. Whatever you're planning, count me in!"

Riddick eyed the eager child. _Nope, I'm definitely not going to deliver this one to Rehab._


	17. Fagin

Little Jacquelyn was the only one who'd recognized him; it was disconcerting to be admired so fiercely by someone so young. Hero-worship wasn't something the convict was used to.

"I know what you're gonna do," the nine year-old persisted as Riddick tried to herd her back to the cryo-pods. "All these kids--you're gonna organize 'em like that guy in the story, whatsisname--Fagin! Yeah! That's brilliant!"

Riddick was staring at her, not that she could tell that through his goggles. "You don't think I'm going to tell you my plans, do you, kid?" he parried. _This gal's a pistol; talk about needing Rehab--but what would she learn from it? _

The felon disregarded her pleas to stay, finally picking her up by the collar and belt of her jumpsuit and carrying her when she wouldn't shut up and go quietly. He almost had to pry Jacquelyn's fingers loose to get the lid closed. Only the threat that he needed people who would listen to him got her to let go. She was still begging to stay awake when he hit the sleep controls and shut her up.

"Don't look now," Johns said with mock-sadness, "but I think that one _liked _you."


	18. Is it Time Yet?

"I figured it out," the ginger-haired trusty drawled, sounding drowsy. "On the approach to Rehab, you're gonna pretend you're me and I'm you. You're gonna dump us and take your hand-picked pals off to be junior criminals."

The only useful thing about Johns was his accent; it gave Riddick something to model his new persona upon. "Could be," the senior criminal allowed with a straight face. _Even if he heard the printer going, he hasn't seen the shiny new credentials I've put together. _

"Not a bad plan," Johns complimented him. "Hey, my leg still hurts from where you kicked me--" Riddick had booted his bad leg after the crack about Jacquelyn. _Not one of my better moments, but Ginger's starting to get on my nerves._ "Is it time for another shot yet?"

The med locker was running low; Riddick made a note--he'd have to see what he could score after they made planetfall. _We're only a few days out of Salinas Prime, if I can keep from beating the crap our of him, it's just about enough. I'd throw him into cryo-sleep if I didn't think the cryo drugs and the painkillers combined would kill him.Guess I'm stuck with him... _


	19. The Man from EIEIO

Riddick made contact with the Cultural Development Bureau on Salinas Prime and gave them the spiel he'd been rehearsing. "Howdy! This here's John Wilkes Booth. I'm with Emigration Intercession Enabling Indigent Orphans. I got a load of young'uns here for your colonists to adopt."

"We haven't heard about this," said a suspicious voice.

"It's brand spanking new," Riddick drawled. "It's based on a program from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They used to send city-kid orphans out to settlers on farms. After all, every kid deserves to live in a safe place with good people."

"Who authorized this?"

"A prominent member of the North American judiciary--Judge Rufus Falkner. He saw a real need for decent families for kids whose parents were deceased or had their rights terminated."

Reading up on orphan trains had given Riddick the idea. Most of these kids he had aboard weren't bad kids--they were just in bad situations and needed a fresh start. Now all he had to do was match the right kid with the right family. _Yeah, it's a challenge, but it's better than packing them off to Rehab. _

Riddick aimed for the Salinas spaceport. _Let the games begin._


	20. Opportunites for Orphans

The agrarian citizens of Salinas Prime were bemused by the spacer who landed in their midst with a shipful of orphans that he claimed would make instant families for them and be useful contributors to their colony.

"These are good boys and girls," stated the man from EIEIO. "We don't want to see them on the streets, getting involved with a bad element. That's why Judge Falkner created this program, so that these fine young people will have warm, loving homes and opportunities they won't find on Earth."

A lifetime of being shuffled around from one institution to another had given Riddick a bone-deep mistrust of its workings. He figured working on a farm beat the hell out of getting shoved around--or worse--in Rehab. _I'd rather do hard work than do hard time._

First, he had to convince these plow-pushing yahoos that free youngsters really were a great deal. He could have asked a nominal fee for transportation, but that might've raised their suspicions, not to mention excluding perfectly good candidates.

_I haven't hauled these kids halfway across known space for fun and games. Not just anybody can have one of my orphans; I'm gonna do right by them._


	21. A Win Win Situation

Wilbur's academic record showed decent grades. He needed somebody smart, an environment that'd keep his mind active, but it had to be with someone who'd give him real attention and not push him into the background. _Hell, his old man did enough of that. He needs somebody who needs someone to take care of. _

Once Riddick decided that, it was clear that there were multiple needy candidates. There were two widows who'd applied. _Who knew farming was so hazardous? And I'm not sure either of them is that bright, even if the older one does bake a nice fruit pie. _(The bribe wasn't going to work, but that didn't stop Riddick from enjoying the change from V-rations.) Another family had lost a son to some exotic disease; his brother was lonely, and they wanted him to have a companion. _Nah, Wilbur'd always be second best. He needs to feel wanted_.

The potential father who made Riddick take a closer look was the colony's apothecary, a widower. _Smart. It's a useful trade for Wilbur to get into when he's older. And I can scope the place out to score more meds for Johns. I think we've got a win-win situation here..._


	22. A Special Problem

Deborah was a special problem. He didn't want her to get stuck with some daddy-figure who'd hit on her. Sometimes there were potentially predatory older brothers, or the femme of the family seemed overly controlling. One thing or another knocked several families out of the running.

Two days of interviewing locals, and Riddick was starting to feel discouraged about Deborah's chances. He didn't want to send her off to Rehab--a pretty girl there would have a hell of a time of it. _Okay, so she killed her mother. It sounded to me like Mama had it coming. She needs a safe place, where nobody's gonna take advantage of her, not some place where she's gonna flip out again and hurt someone. _

On the third day, the perfect couple presented themselves, and Riddick breathed a sigh of relief. Syd and Marti had been together for eight years--two years before embarking to Salinas Prime for the colony venture--and they couldn't have children together, but when Riddick cautiously explained that one of his young women had been traumatized and needed a nurturing environment, their expressions of interest gave him hope.

"Just one question," Syd asked Riddick. "Does she happen to know anything about sheep?"


	23. Solidarity

_Sheep? _"She might recognize 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' if you hummed a few bars," Riddick said. "I don't think _I've _ever seen a sheep close up, unless it was on a plate."

Marti chuckled. "Honey, you forget, neither of us ever saw a sheep until we landed here. Now we have it down to an art," she told Riddick. "Syd keeps watch over the flocks and I dye and spin the wool."

"She weaves, I knit," Syd interjected, smiling at her mate.

"Sounds like you two have worked it all out. No fights, domestic squabbles, any of that?"

"Heavens, no!" Marti protested, giving Syd a look of adoration. The other woman rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We understand what you're not saying," Syd said, looking Riddick squarely in the eye. "Marti and I are life-partners, period. No child is going to affect that. She needs help, we can help her. She'll be safe with us."

"She's no child," Riddick said, shaking his head. "Her mother saw to that. She's scared and suspicious. Can you handle that?"

"Yes," they said in unison. Riddick admired their solidarity.

"Then Deborah's yours. I'll bring her by tomorrow."


	24. In Too Deep

"Last chance, Rudy. You're sure you want to go on to Rehab?"

Cardoso's case nagged at Riddick. Here he was, being sent to Rehab for nothing more than sleeping with the wrong someone. The difference in their ages was barely illegal, but some fool social worker had decided to prosecute, and here was Rudy, looking at the consequences.

"I don't _want _to," Rudy said, "but it's what I have to do. I'm not going to do anything that could get me into more trouble."

"You'd be _out _of trouble." Riddick could place this kid in five minutes--but the stubborn young man kept shaking his head.

Rudy shrugged. "You think they're going to let us disappear? No, sir, I think your intentions are good, but they'll have to account for us. They'll find us, then they'll add more time onto our sentences. I won't risk it."

_Damn me if he's right... _Riddick felt dread for his kids at the thought, but he was in too deep to back out now.

"I know some folks who'd love to have you."

"I already have a family. Don't you understand what that means?"

Riddick just shook his head. _No idea._


	25. The Midnight Scream

Riddick entered the apothecary's shop at midnight. At mid-afternoon, Johns had gotten the last shot from the med locker. By the time Riddick exited the _Kapiolani _on his mission of mercy, the trusty had begged, sobbing, for another hit. It dawned on Riddick that Johns was hurting for a fix, not hurting from his leg. Throwing Ginger into cryo-sleep as soon as he'd adjusted the leg and shoulder might've been better after all.

Maybe it was still a good idea. Riddick looked at the canisters on the shelves, realizing he had no way of figuring out what dose of this stuff would be the same as the neatly packaged vials in the med locker. _I might put the bastard to sleep permanently. No great loss, but I'm not about to let myself in for that kind of trouble._

Riddick hiked back out to the Salinas Prime spaceport, which was a fancy term for a glorified runway. He'd been told that the locals had tractor races on it when there were no ships in. It was deserted at this hour, which was a damn good thing, since he could hear Johns screaming from fifty meters away, even through the sealed hatch.


	26. FreezeFrame

The trusty writhed on the deck. He'd been vomiting--the smell was rank in the enclosed space. _Okay, that answers that. His ass gets knocked out and the medicos at Rehab can deal with him. I'll take my chances on freezing him._

Johns was far-gone enough that he didn't notice Riddick's return. Even when the felon opened the nearest empty cryo-pod--there were plenty, now--Johns remained curled up in a ball near the head, shaking and wailing.

Riddick uncuffed the shackle he'd secured the trusty with, preparing to lift him and sling him into the open locker, when Johns kicked him in the ribs with his good leg. Howling with derangement, Johns attacked Riddick, biting, scratching, kicking. Tactics and strategy were beyond him, but his bad leg didn't seem to slow him down.

After the first shock, Riddick gained enough control over the other man to throw him into the open pod. Johns lunged at him, but Riddick landed a blow to the trusty's jaw that sent him reeling back, stunned.

Riddick hit the button for the pod cover, and activated the cryo sequence. Johns went motionless, face immobile in an expression of anguish.

The felon sighed and got out the mop-bot.


	27. The Littlest Orphan

There was one child left.

Finding a home for his littlest passenger was easy, but Riddick stalled when it came to reviving her. Jacquelyn was the only kid who'd recognized him, for one thing, and the less time between turning her loose and getting himself off-planet, the better. _Just in case she slips._

He had just the family lined up for her. There were four brothers; the oldest boys were thirteen and twelve and the younger ones--twins--were eight, a year younger than Jacquelyn. Riddick saw how it was: the older boys idolized their father--the twins weren't going to be left out and tagged along in their wake.

After having a rough delivery with the twins, their mother wasn't able to have any more kids. When Riddick saw the look on her face when she told him how much she'd wanted a daughter, he had her pegged. _Five guys and mom--mom needs another girl around to have someone else on her side--and she'll give that imp Jacquelyn enough love to straighten her out. Four brothers? She's scrappy, it won't faze her. _

_This is gonna take some persuasion--that kid doesn't want to be a kid, she wants to rob banks or something..._


	28. Secret Mission

The littlest inmate of the _Kapiolani _regarded Riddick with bright eyes. He'd figured out a story to keep her happy, until she figured out he wasn't coming back. "Okay, here's the deal. When people go off to colonize, they can't bring a lot of stuff, so they have to bring the best. What I want you to do is, be friendly with everybody and find out what they've got. Antiques, artwork, tools--learn as much as you can about everything. _Don't_ try taking anything yourself. You're no good to me if they've got you locked up."

"When are we gonna do it?" she asked with a feral grin.

"When I get back," he lied easily. "The rest of this crew is going to another planet for me. I've got a place for you here. They'll think you're a poor helpless kid, so let them think that. Be nice with them. You can do it."

"Until you come back?

"That's right. You lay low and stay sharp. I'm counting on you."

Jacquelyn's grin got bigger at the implied compliment. "And then they won't know what hit 'em!"

_Cute kid. I sure hope this straightens her out._ "That's my girl."


	29. Echo Charlie Ten

Corrections needed to know what kind of sicko Johns was. Riddick added some notes of his own to the data-cube, including an overview of what he'd done and why. He didn't include Salinas Prime as as the place the kids were stashed. _I found them good homes, period. __Not that it'll get me off the hook if anyone catches up with me._

There was a recycling depot at the perimeter of mass point Echo-Charlie Ten. Riddick detoured there for a few useful items. Aside from his remaining passengers, he regarded the ship as fair game; he bartered various spare parts and redundant systems for what he needed.

Backtracking so _Kapiolani _would emerge from the right vector for his cover story, Riddick studied charts of the system and selected potential landing sites. His caution tacked a couple more weeks onto the voyage--he looked forward to a long shore leave and some adult recreation once he'd dumped this bunch at their destination. They were overdue. Riddick knew traffic control would be jumpy. He'd have to land, jettison the cryo section, and lift again before they could tag him. They probably wouldn't fire on him coming in, but departure would be another matter.


	30. A Miner Problem

Riddick's entry point into Rehab space was calc'ed to three decimal points. He had a salvaged beacon bartered from Echo-Charlie Ten, and plotted an entry vector that would scare the daylights out of traffic control. The beacon was from a ship of the same class as _Kapiolani_, recently retired from service. He'd pulled the ship chip and left the beacon intact. _The best way to keep them guessing is to come in fast, distress beacon screaming. I have Johns' codes--then I veer off from landing because of a 'malfunction' and blow the rear section. It's a great plan, if it works._

Adrenalin surged through Riddick as _Kapiolani_ dropped from hyperspace into Rehab system and he hailed traffic control, using Johns' ID, sounding distressed. His velocity must be giving them nightmares, but because of the comm lag, it was sixteen minutes before their hail sounded. With a normal entry, two or more hours would've been considered a reasonable margin, and predictably, they were pissed. _Sorry to ruin your day, folks, but I really don't give a rat's ass about regulations. _

They had reason to yell, Riddick realized. There was an mining barge directly in _Kapiolani's_ path, less then twenty seconds out.


	31. Damage Control

The proximity alarms on the bridge began to hoot wildly. Twenty seconds at full velocity was barely enough time to focus on the scan and slap up shields. Riddick jinked on a y-axis, hoping he was avoiding the worst ore concentration as well as the miners and their barge.

_Kapiolani _shuddered as chunks of ore rattled against her shields. Riddick fought for control--the vessel wasn't built for high-speed maneuverability--and managed to stabilize their orientation and dump velocity. _Slow down, you bitch, before you get us all killed..._

The incident helped add weight to his story; if he hadn't been messed up before, flying through an ore cluster could plausibly cause damage. Riddick sent a burst to traffic control that his maneuvering had been impaired, and rapidly called up satellite access showing weather conditions for the planet. Good weather at the central facility where he was expected to land--it was on the far side of planetary rotation--but there was a nasty Level 4 storm on the near side. He'd have to go the long way around to avoid it coming in, but on the way out, without the bulk of the cryo unit, it could be useful for losing pursuers.


	32. Worst Case Scenario

The damage he'd claimed gave Riddick a reasonable excuse for an erratic course. He parried with traffic control, simultaneously checking the charts to see which of the sites he'd preselected as a place to lose the cryo cabin would work under current conditions. His instrumentation showed no damage to the unit, which meant a worst-case scenario of ditching it over water was feasible. It was self-contained and would stay afloat until help could arrive. _As long as I don't drop it in the middle of that storm. That would really put it to the test. _

With one last v-dump, Riddick took _Kapiolani _into the atmosphere. This was where it got tricky. The stresses involved could tear the _Kapiolani_ apart. The ship quivered, protesting the return to gravity, and Riddick's grip on the yoke was iron. He brought her lower, all his concentration on guiding the craft into planetary space. The angle of decent had to be exactly right...

Traffic control had stopped pestering him, and after ten tense minutes, he successfully brought the transport down into the stratosphere. _I should've know that was too good to be true, _Riddick reflected as a pair of escorts met him at 40 kilometers.


	33. An Unarmed Dogfight

_It's like I'm driving a bus and they're in sports cars. Rehab never had this kind of air support in the old days. A couple of choppers for search and rescue, but that was it. _This was a wrinkle Riddick hadn't expected. He had to outfly them--at least one of them. If he could knock one of them out of the picture, the other one was almost certain to stop pursuit after he ditched the cryo unit. _And if he doesn't, I've got a little surprise for him. _

He let _Kapiolani'_s airspeed drop further, speaking in sentence fragments and crackling a scrap of cellophane against the microphone. The escorts urgently demanded his status, and Riddick let himself sound panicked. There was a problem with the steering linkage, the controls were responting sluggishly... He tracked their relative positions until the craft on his right was where he wanted it.

The device concealed beneath his right wing spat an impressive contrail of sparks when Riddick triggered the remote. He followed that with a hard right maneuver that clipped the tail of the smaller craft and sent it hurtling planetward.

The other craft followed him with dogged persistance.

_One down, one to go..._


	34. Special Delivery

Riddick heard the pilot of the craft he'd downed calling for pick up. Her wingmate was still in hot pursuit, and Riddick had a helluva time getting away. Checking his current position, he located the nearest drop-off point, a shallow valley with a blue lake in the middle.

"--Can't control--" he radioed, crackling cellophane. "--nothing--link--gone bad--ditching main cabin--" As he soared over the lake, he hit the cabin release, controlling _Kapiolani'_s leap as the giant mass on her tail broke away. "Save them!" he bellowed at the second escort, no acting this time. He pulled _Kapiolani _up, lifting her over the ridge of low hills at the far end of the valley.

As the pursuit craft broke off to circle around the cryo-cabin, Riddick lowered altitude so he wasn't visible from the valley, then flushed the recycler. As soon as he heard the release, he punched his air speed to max. By the time the explosive device detonated on the slope, Riddick was well away, concealed by thick, black smoke. He heard the second pilot informing traffic control that the main cabin was intact on Veronica Lake but _Kapiolani _was down, with no sign of an ejection chute.


	35. The Eye of the Storm

Riddick gunned _Kapiolani _toward the storm front. It was one of his craziest stunts ever--by skirting the whirling vortex, he could avoid detection and with careful navigation, he'd emerge in one of Rehab's orbital blind spots. It was his best shot for getting out of the planetary system without further hassle.

Without the main cabin to worry about, Riddick could fly the hell out of the forward section. Any sane pilot would've been petrified by the raging winds, but Riddick enjoyed it more than he'd enjoyed anything in months. He wasn't responsible for anyone but himself, and that was the best thing that had happened to him in a long, long time.

His hands controlled _Kapiolani_ through the fierce storm, letting the gale propell the craft, all the while guiding her toward a specific spot on the southern hemisphere. The wind lessened, and they gained altitude steadily. _Kapiolani_ began to shudder as they pierced the stratosphere.

By the time traffic control noticed they had a bogey outbound, he was out of range of anything they had. Riddick, smiling like a shark, lined up the jump that would take him out of the system.

He was free.


	36. Where Are They Now?

**Epilogue: Where Are They Now?**

All the sleepers aboard Kapiolani's cryo-cabin were rescued safely. Upon being revived, **Trustee Johns** displayed psychotic behavior, and it was determined that he was suffering from acute morphine withdrawal and had a semi-healed greenstick fracture of the right tibia. The leg was repaired, but after repeated lapses into addiction, his employment with Corrections was terminated. Drawing on his law enforcement background, he became a bounty hunter. **Rudi **had his sentence reduced in appreciation of his cooperation into the probe of the Kapiolani hijacking. Upon his return to Earth, he learned that the young woman responsible for his conviction had no interest in resuming their relationship, but he was able to get custody of their daughter. Ironically, he emigrated to Salinas Prime, and eventually partnered with an older woman.

**Judge Falkner** was lauded as a forward-thinker when the Cultural Development Bureau of Salinas Prime contacted Earth asking for more orphans. Although he'd never heard of an organization called Emigration Intercession Enabling Indigent Orphans, the alias John Wilkes Booth _did _ring a bell--he was the man who assassinated US President Abraham Lincoln. Careful questioning of the CDB by his clerk, **Spinelli**, revealed that it was a scam perpetrated by the transport pilot he'd assigned. However, research into the Orphan Train program encouraged the judge to attempt further placement of at-risk juveniles as an alternative to Rehab.

Of the juvenile offenders Riddick placed on Salinas Prime, **Wilbur **thrived with his foster father, got a degree in Pharmocology and founded a successful company exporting medicines compounded from indigenous products. **Deborah **got off to a rocky start among the sheep, testing Syd and Marti's limits, but they were firm and loving. Although it took several years for her to adapt, she learned the difference between love and sex, and finally partnered with a young man from one of the neighboring farms. **Jacquelyn **waited for Riddick to return, until a news bulletin detailing his capture in another system for a different offense shattered her hopes. She stowed away on a trading vessel, returning briefly to Earth, then got passage with a group of pilgrims on the way to New Mecca.

As for **Richard B. Riddick**, he has repeatedly escaped detention. His current whereabouts are unknown.

* * *

**_The author waxes loquacious: _**A big thanks to everyone who read "It Takes One to Know One". An even bigger thanks to my faithful reviewers---you know who you are. This story grew out of a series of off-the-wall e-mails that took place many months ago. A plot bunny with as much tenacity as Riddick himself would _not _drop the idea of Riddick piloting a gang of delinquent kids. There really was an orphan train program---more detailsat pbs(dot)org---and John Wilkes Booth did assassinate Lincoln. I have other incarnations of Riddick in mind, but I think the fat lady has sung for this one. Hope you enjoyed it. Have a nice day. 


End file.
